The present invention relates to pliers in which the elongated elements of the pliers are pivotable about a pair of pivot points to provide improved clamping action.
Pliers are conventionally comprised of a pair of elongated members with jaws at one end and handle portions at the other end. In some instances, the pivot for the two jaws is fixed and in other instances, a pivot pin is slidable in a slot to allow some translation of the members relative to each other in an effort to improve the gripping orientation of the jaw portions of the pliers in what is known as a slip-joint structure. Exemplary of a slip-joint pliers is Patrick U.S. Pat. No. 2,766,647. More recently, there have been substantial efforts to provide self-adjusting pliers such as illustrated in Warheit U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,662,252 and 5,060,543.
In Jore et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,048 there is proposed a pliers construction in which there is not only a first pivot point but also a cam surface in which a second pivot pin is moved to effect parallel movement of the jaw faces.
It is conventional to employ offsetting of the neck portions to allow the neck portions to pivot and slide relative to one another while maintaining the jaws in opposing relationship for gripping of workpieces therebetween. To avoid the necessity for producing such offset jaw portions, some patents propose the construction of pliers with laminated jaw portions to provide opposing clamping faces, such as, for example, Warheit U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,662,252 and 5,351,584.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel pliers employing a pair of spaced pivots about which the jaw portions pivot to enable rapid adjustment and application of clamping force to a gripped workpiece.
It is also an object to provide such a pliers which can be quickly and readily fabricated.
Another object is to provide such pliers in which the elongated elements are laminates of multiple sheet metal pieces.